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Saeed Jeffery
Saeed Jeffery was the owner of the Foodstore in 1985. During his time on the Square, Saeed surprised neighbours Andy, Debbie, Lofty and Mary with his obsession in sex when he would anonymously phone Debbie and have obscene conversations with her, and would visit strip clubs, one of which Mary worked at. In August 1985, Saeed's arranged marriage with Naima broke down, and when she later learnt that he was making obscene phone calls to Debbie, she filed for divorce, causing Saeed to lose ownership of the shop and ultimately leave the Square to live in Bangladesh with his family. Biography 1985: A marriage breaks down Outsider Saeed took over the Foodstore family business when his parents retired and decided to move back to their native country, Bangladesh. Before his parents returned to Bangladesh they helped him find wife Naima Jeffery through an arranged marriage. Saeed was cautious of how the local residents perceived him, as although he was born in London, he was typically looked upon as Asian by the community. Lou Beale regularly commented on Saeed's nationality, telling him that did not belong in Walford and did not know how to care for his customers. Saeed's marriage with Naima was strained from the day they met, as Naima was never interested in him. In their flat, Saeed and Naima stayed in separate bedrooms, which displeased an amorous Saeed, who desperately wanted to start a family. Saeed and Naima's differences in attraction to each other led Saeed to secretly start visiting a brothel. However, when a rebellious Naima eventually decided to consummate her marriage to Saeed, their relationship began improving. Saeed learnt more about Naima and felt more respected by her, until she was sent an anonymous note in the post which exposed Saeed's brothel secret. Naima fretted over the note and, after conversations with her friends, confronted Saeed over the note. Saeed admitted to visiting brothels which resulted in their relationship breaking down and Naima moving out. With Naima gone, Saeed began drinking more frequently and visited prostitutes and strip clubs. He was shocked when during one of his visits to a strip club he bumped into Mary Smith, who had taken up exotic dancing. As well as this, Saeed made anonymous obscene phone calls to Debbie Wilkins, a neighbour of his who he began developing feelings for. Debbie was left perplexed by who the caller was, until Naima returned in December and answered the telephone on Debbie's behalf whilst she was in the kitchen. Naima recognised Saeed's voice and filed for divorce immediately after learning what he had done. Saeed did not know that Naima had returned to the Square prior to her answering Debbie's phone, and once he had learnt that Naima was back, he desperately tried to find her. Naima hid around the Square and spent the days at Lou's house talking to Pauline Fowler. Debbie visited a morose Saeed and handed him a card for the Samartians, so that he could seek help for his problems. Naima eventually decided that her and Saeed needed to talk. Saeed begged Naima to stay with him but she told him that he would be happier in Bangladesh, where he would find someone who wanted to be with him and start a family with him. Saeed realised that his relationship with Naima could not be salvaged, so he decided it was for the best that he moved abroad. On Boxing Day, he prepared to travel back to Bangladesh. Naima decided to visit Saeed before he went and the pair reconciled, visiting a canal they both used to enjoy walking along. Afterwards, Naima says her goodbyes to Saeed, as does Lou, who after months of disliking Saeed tells him that he is one of their own, and was welcome to return whenever he wanted to. Other information *Saeed was later mentioned to have remarried and had seven children. He was also mentioned to be working as a translator for the government in Dhaka. Background information *Saeed was one of the original set of twenty-three characters in EastEnders and appeared in the first episode. *Saeed was the show's first ever regular character to leave the show. First and last lines "They're taking Reg to hospital." (First line) --- "Thank you." (Final line, to Lou Beale) See also *Full list of appearances Category:EastEnders characters Category:Original characters Category:1985 debuts Category:1985 departures Category:Foodstore owners Category:Residents of 47B Albert Square